Chasing the Past
by valshopaholic
Summary: This is the sequel to my first White Collar fanfiction "Crossing Paths" published in December 2010.  If you haven't already read it, I would recommend that you do so before reading this one to explain the new characters I created for this story.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Chasing the Past

**Summary:** Who killed Ryan Harper and why? What other secrets will Stephanie Harper reveal to Peter and Neal?

**A/N:** _This is the sequel to my first White Collar fanfiction "Crossing Paths" published in December 2010. If you haven't already read it, I would recommend that you do so before reading this one to explain the new characters I created for this story._

_This story is to be published in six chapters and all chapters have been written prior to the airing of S2E14 "Payback", therefore, some references will be made to events that have occurred up to S2E13 "Countermeasures"._

* * *

**CHAPTER ONE**

Elizabeth Burke was holding the paper she had taken out of her husband's hand. It had only 6 handwritten words – a woman's handwriting, she suspected.

The note read: "Ryan Harper was my Neal Caffrey."

"What does this mean?" Elizabeth asked Peter.

"I think it means that Ryan Harper was a con working for the FBI," Peter said this as if he was just wondering out loud.

"You think Ryan Harper was a criminal who had cut a deal with the FBI similar to Neal's?"

"Except for the anklet."

"Why would one of the richest men in Manhattan be a white collar criminal?"

"I don't know. If this is true, he certainly wouldn't be the first one." Peter was still trying to wrap his head around the revelation.

"But Honey, who left you this note and how did it get into your pocket?"

"Stephanie Harper." Peter took the piece of paper back from Elizabeth's hand. He looked at his wife and continued, "I recognise her writing. It's been a long time since I've seen it but I remember it and I have no doubt it's hers. I think she might have put it in my pocket when I gave her a hug to congratulate her on closing the case just before I left the office."

"If you are right then why is she telling you this now? Ryan Harper is dead and this little secret could have been buried with him 'coz I'm pretty sure the FBI would never have made this public knowledge."

"I don't know, El. But I know one person who can give me all the answers."

* * *

Stephanie Harper was sleeping, Neal lying next to her, awake. Her head was resting on his shoulder. They were in her apartment. He was watching her sleep, with quiet admiration and fascination. He gently stroked her arm as if making sure she was really there with him. She stirred in his arms, then slowly opened her eyes. He returned her gaze with his blue eyes, and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. She turned her face up towards him and they kissed deeply.

"I'm sorry if I woke you," Neal said.

"If that's what I wake up to, then there is nothing to apologise for," Stephanie smiled.

"I could have watched you sleep like that for hours. You looked so peaceful, so…" Neal tried to find the right word, "…so serene."

"Serene…" Stephanie repeated after Neal. "I don't think I have slept so well since, well, I don't remember the last time I slept so well."

"Not even with Ryan?" Neal asked.

"Neal," Stephanie shifted away from Neal's embrace, moved so that she was leaning on her side, resting on her elbow. She looked thoughtfully at him. "Neal," she said again. "We need to talk."

* * *

Mozzie and Alex were in Neal's apartment, but no Neal.

"So where's Neal?" Alex asked.

"I'm not his keeper. That's the Suit's job," Mozzie replied.

"I need to talk to him," Alex said urgently.

"Well, as you can see, he is not here."

"So why are you here?"

"This is where he keeps the good wine."

"Argh!" Alex grunted.

"What is so urgent that you need to speak to him in the dead of night?" Mozzie asked, curious now.

"I'm being watched. I don't know who it is but I need help. It's got to have something to do with Adler. Now that he knows the Feds are on to him!" Alex was clearly rattled and was speaking quickly.

"Well, how do you expect Neal to help?"

"He knows people. He's tethered to the FBI. They got the target off my back before. I need them to do it again!" Alex said with desperation in her voice.

"How are you being watched?"

"I have clients – very important clients – very RICH clients, who have been avoiding me. I got suspicious. Then yesterday, one of them finally admitted that they are staying away from me because they think I'm too hot to buy from, and they're not saying it in a complimentary way. How am I supposed to work like this? Then this morning, when I picked up my phone to call Hale, I thought I heard a 'click' on the phone. Hale heard it too so I know I wasn't imagining it. So we had to pretend like we got a bad line and hung up. I had to throw my phone away and get a new burner phone. I can't go back to my apartment either."

"So you came HERE?" Mozzie exclaimed, walking over to the window and quickly drawing all the curtains close. "If your apartment is being watched then they were probably following you and now you've brought them HERE?"

"I was careful, Moz. I checked and took different routes and detoured and all that. I may be desperate but I'm not stupid. Besides, if it is Adler, then he already knows where Caffrey lives."

"Neal is on an anklet, Alex. The FBI don't watch him because the Marshals know where he is at all times anyway." Mozzie went to his satchel, retrieved a bug sweeper and began to walk around Neal's apartment, running the bug detector over and under furniture and furnishings as he spoke. "Take a look around in case there are hidden cameras."

"You know you have OCD, right?" Alex relented and started looking around as well.

"You wanna have this argument with me now?"

"So where is he, Moz? I thought he was closing his big case against Hyland Financials and Carroll Investments today. Why isn't he home yet?"

"He didn't tell me. I assume he's with the Suit."

"It's 2.30 in the morning."

"Like I said, I'm not his keeper. Now keep looking!"

* * *

Neal was standing with Stephanie in her kitchen, making coffee like a trained barista, dressed in one of Ryan's robes.

The intercom rang. Stephanie stepped out of the noisy kitchen and picked it up from the living room. A minute later, she walked back into the kitchen and said, "Neal, you'd better go get dressed. We have company coming up."

Neal raised an eyebrow and was about to ask a question but Stephanie had already walked back out again.

The door bell rang and Stephanie opened the door. Peter was standing there, looking unusually rattled.

"Hey, Stevie. I'm so sorry for coming here so late."

"Come on in," Stephanie replied and stepped aside to let Peter into the room.

Peter walked in and noticed two wine glasses on the table. "Oh, you have company. I should go."

"Sit down, Peter." Stephanie took a seat on the lounge.

Peter did as he was told and sat across from Stephanie. He turned towards the hallway at the sound of someone walking out. It was Neal, now dressed in his black shirt and gray suit-pants, hair a little mussed up, the same clothes he had been wearing the day before.

"Hello Peter," Neal said.

"Neal…" Peter said in surprise. "What are you…" he did not ask any further. He tried not to think about why Neal would be in Stephanie's apartment in the middle of the night.

"I could ask you the same thing," Neal tried to joke. "Are you checking up on me? I am within my 2 mile radius, plus I am in the company of an FBI agent," Neal continued, nodding his head at Stephanie.

"I believe Peter has found the note," Stephanie answered for Peter.

Peter turned back to Stephanie, "He knows about the note?"

"That's as far as we got," Stephanie said.

Peter continued, "I don't think we should be having this discussion in front of him."

"Peter, no more secrets. I trust Neal and I want him to hear this," Stephanie replied.

Neal was still standing, feeling like the third wheel and said to Stephanie, "Peter's right. I should go."

Stephanie looked up at Neal and said, "I need you – both of you. Please stay."

Peter was still uncertain but now also curious.

"Well, in that case, I think I'll get us some coffee. Sounds like we'll need it," Neal said and disappeared into the kitchen, returning moments later with 3 cups of coffee which he placed on the marble coffee table.

Neal sat down in the armchair in between the couches Peter and Stephanie were on.

There was a brief silence as everyone gathered their thoughts.

"Let's start with an easy one: what did you mean by this?" Peter asked, holding up the note Stephanie had given to Peter.

"My late husband was a CI working with me for the FBI. I was his handler for the past 15 years," Stephanie replied.

"You're telling me that Ryan Harper was a criminal? But there is no file on him with the FBI," Peter asked.

"He was never formally charged with any crimes so there would have been no file on him as such. We reported only to Hughes and Bancroft. Anything you might have seen on either of us would have been redacted."

"It's a hell of a secret to keep all these years," Neal commented.

"You're no stranger to secrets, Neal," Stephanie replied, then added, "I will explain everything later but there is another reason why I'm telling you all this now."

"You need our help," Peter responded.

"Yes. I believe Ryan was murdered."

"Homicide's not our area of expertise and I thought he died in a parachuting accident?" Neal asked.

"That's what the coroner's report said. But I never believed it," Stephanie replied.

"What did the report say?" Peter asked.

"They found nothing suspicious with the parachute. The conclusion was that he must have panicked, mistimed the opening of the 'chute and caused the cords to wrap around his neck when he crashed to the ground."

"But you suspect foul play," Neal said.

"Ryan had been parachuting since he was 18. He BASE-jumped, bungeed, abseiled, parkoured – you name it, he would have tried it at least once. He was an adrenaline junkie. There was no way he panicked or mistimed opening the 'chute."

"As I recall from the news, Ryan's pilot said he didn't look well that day and he'd tried to talk Ryan out of jumping," Peter said.

"I dropped Ryan off at the hangar that morning and he was perfectly fine. He was as excited as he always was before a jump. There was nothing wrong with him."

"I thought it was Ryan's usual pilot flying him that day. Why would he lie?" Peter asked.

"Bill Caton had been Ryan's pilot for almost 10 years. He was as close to being Ryan's confidant as you could imagine."

"Did he know about you and your cover?" Peter asked.

"Not as far as I could tell. At least I never told him and Ryan assured me he had never told a living soul about us," Stephanie replied.

"What was Caton's background?" Neal asked.

"He was a former naval pilot. He was dishonourably discharged in 2000 for suspicion of smuggling antiquities. The charges were never proven but there were enough strikes against his name to warrant the discharge."

"How did Caton and Ryan meet?" Peter asked.

"Through Vincent Adler," Stephanie replied.


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER TWO**

Neal opened the door to his apartment at June's house to find Mozzie fast asleep on his couch and, to his greater surprise, Alex passed out at his dining table.

Neal stepped inside his apartment and slammed the door shut. Both Mozzie and Alex woke with a start.

"Partied too hard?" Neal asked.

"Where have you been? It's…" Mozzie adjusted his glasses which had gone askew on his face while he was sleeping.

"Five in the morning," Alex finished the sentence for him.

"I wasn't aware June had assigned you two to monitor my curfew," Neal replied as he strolled into the apartment towards Alex. "What's going on?" Neal looked around and spotted Mozzie's bug-sweeper on the floor.

"Alex thinks she's being followed again and has brought the target over here into our home," Mozzie said.

"_My_ home, Moz. The last time I checked you weren't part of my lease agreement with June," Neal corrected. Then he turned back to Alex and asked, "Who do you think is following you?"

"I don't know for sure but it's got to have something to do with Adler, ever since we figured out what the fractal was for. I'd been staying pretty low-key since Mozzie was shot so I can't think who else it could possibly be," Alex replied.

"Never underestimate your opponent. Adler taught me that. He taught me a lot of things," Neal said.

"And in the process, he conned us all," Mozzie added.

"So where _**have**_ you been all night?" It was Alex's turn to ask.

"With Stephanie Harper and Peter," Neal answered.

"The Suit and Secret Suit?" Mozzie asked. "You had a party without me again?"

"No, Moz. Peter wasn't invited either," Mozzie raised a questioning eyebrow at this. "Stephanie believes Ryan Harper was murdered and suspects Adler was involved somehow." Neal continued without giving him a chance to ask anything further on that topic.

"Murdered?" Alex asked. "How does she figure Adler in the picture?"

"Ryan's pilot, Bill Caton, was introduced to him by Adler. Caton was the last person to see Ryan alive and he lied to the police about Ryan's condition before his jump."

"What does she think is the motive behind Ryan's murder, if Adler is indeed responsible?" Mozzie asked.

"She's been going through Ryan's papers, his art works – and there's a LOT there. She thinks Ryan might have had something that Adler wants back," Neal said.

"Does she know what it is?" Alex asked.

"She hasn't been able to figure it out and she's worried the trail is getting colder by the day. That's why she's asking for our help."

"And how exactly does she think you and the Suit can help?" Mozzie asked.

"Peter is going to use his contacts to do some digging into Caton's navy background – see what he can find out about the allegations against Caton that led to his dishonourable discharge," Neal explained.

"And you?" Alex asked.

"If there's anything hidden in any of the Ryan's art works or other collectibles, hopefully I will be able to find it before Adler does."

"And meanwhile, what are we going to do about my tail?" Alex asked again.

"Look, why don't you go to a safe house – I'm sure Mozzie can help you out with that – and I'll talk to Peter about this tomorrow. Trust me." Neal gave Alex one of his most disarming smiles.

* * *

Neal had just stepped out of the shower and was putting on a fresh polo shirt and jeans when his phone rang. He picked it up and looked at the caller ID. It was Peter.

"Hey, Peter. What have you got?" Neal asked.

"Hughes spoke to General Lonergan from JAG. They're sending over Caton's file. It should be here in an hour. I've been going through the coroner's report on Ryan Harper's death. Jones and Diana are on their way to Caton's house to bring him in for questioning."

"Wow, you've been busy. Have you had any sleep at all?"

"I gave up sleep the moment I found Stephanie's note in my pocket," Peter replied. "Where are you?"

"Just about to head over to Stephanie's to go over Ryan's things to see what she might have missed," Neal replied.

"You think there might be some other hidden clues like the music box?" Peter asked.

"I don't think whoever designed the equation we found in the music box would be so unoriginal as to repeat themselves. Whatever it is, Adler thinks we may have already found it and wants it back."

"What makes you say that?"

"When I got home from Stephanie's, Alex was here and Mozzie was sweeping the apartment for bugs. Someone's been following Alex and bugging her phone. She thinks it's Adler. If that's the case, he thinks we're already on to something and is coming to get it."

"Where's Alex now?"

"Don't worry. Mozzie has taken her to one of his safe houses," Neal answered without revealing the details.

Peter paused thoughtfully, and then said, "OK. Keep me posted."

"Will do," Neal replied, then hung up the phone and headed out the door.

* * *

Neal was once again standing transfixed in the Harpers' panic room behind the wall of the study. It was his second time in this secret room and it had not lost any of its magical charms. To Neal, this was now called The Magic Cave – filled with so many treasures in such a small room. No, this was more like Ali Baba's cave, filled with lots of _stolen _treasures. "Open sesame," he thought out loud.

"What?" Stephanie asked as she joined Neal in the room. He could understand why Ryan Harper used to immerse himself in this beauty, as he was now doing. But he was here to do a job and it seemed like they were now racing against the clock to solve yet another mystery.

"Oh, nothing. I was just talking to myself."

"I know I don't have an artist's eye – or a forger's eye, for that matter," Stephanie was walking around the room, slowly moving from one wall to another looking intently at the paintings, "but I have gone through each of these paintings and sculptures top to bottom, front and back. I've used every technique Ryan's ever taught me to check for forgeries and I can't find any secret messages hidden inside or behind any of these."

Neal looked at Stephanie with concern, "Why didn't you come to me earlier?"

"I needed to do this by myself. It was personal," Stephanie was avoiding looking into Neal's blue eyes.

"Ryan was your husband. Of course, it was personal. But you said you trusted me and I know you trust Peter. You knew we were looking for Adler. You should have told us earlier. You didn't need to be on your own anymore now that we know your cover."

"I meant it was between me and Adler."

Neal took Stephanie's arm and forced her to look at him. "What do you mean it's between you and Adler?"

"I had an affair with Adler 10 years ago. He conned me like he conned you and everyone else."


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER THREE**

Jones was dripping wet in his suit, as was Caton, as he and Diana escorted Bill Caton, handcuffed, into the conference room at the FBI office. While Jones kept watch on Caton, Diana went next door into Peter's office. He was deep in thought, going through Ryan Harper's autopsy report from the Coroner's office.

Diana knocked on Peter's open door and he looked up from his papers.

"What took you so long?" Peter asked.

"Caton wasn't at his house when we got there. We spoke to his neighbours and they said they hadn't seen him in a while. We finally tracked him down at his ex-wife's house," Diana replied. "He tried to run out the back when we came knocking. He's in the conference room now."

Peter picked up one of the manila folders on his desk and headed out of his office as Diana stepped aside to let him through and followed him into the conference room.

As Peter was about to step inside, he noticed both Jones and Caton were dripping wet. He turned to Diana with a questioning look. Diana replied quietly, "Caton jumped the fence into the neighbour's yard. Jones went after him and let's just say the neighbour's fence was unexpectedly close to the pool."

Peter stepped inside, looked at Jones and said, "Agent Jones, why don't you go and change into some dry clothes." Jones nodded and left the room.

Peter placed the file he brought with him on the table in front of him and sat across from Caton. Diana sat down next to Peter.

"Bill Caton, I'm Agent Peter Burke."

"I'd like to get some dry clothes," Caton said.

"You will, when we're done here," Peter replied.

"What's this about, _Agent Burke_? I get chased out of my house in the middle of play time with my daughter. Your agents here were a little scant on the details before they started cuffing me."

"My agents said they couldn't find you at your house?" Peter asked.

"I was with my ex-wife. I may not live there anymore but I paid for that house so technically it's still my house," Caton replied. "Am I being charged with something? Do I need a lawyer?"

"Why did you run when my agents came to your ex-wife's door?" Peter asked.

"The Feds want to talk to me. I don't know why. I haven't done anything wrong. So I'm wondering what you would want with an average citizen like me?"

"According to your service record, you aren't exactly what I would call 'an average citizen' Mr Caton," Peter said as he made to thumb through the manila folder in front of him, held up so that Caton could not see its contents.

"And you still haven't told me what I'm sitting here for in handcuffs. Explain to me why you are looking at my service record. Since when did the navy become such pals with the FBI?"

"We're investigating the theft of some stolen European artefacts from the 1940s and we think you might know something about them," Peter held Caton's gaze.

"Look, whatever that file says about me, I had nothing to do with any missing antiquities or whatever. They couldn't pin anything on me. That's why they couldn't prosecute."

"And yet you happened to be either in the vicinity of the pieces when they went missing, or provided the alibi for others suspected of those crimes. I don't believe in coincidences Mr Caton," Peter said, closing the file he was holding, put it back down on the table and leant forward in his seat now.

"I think I am entitled to my phone call now," Caton said flatly, turning away from Peter's gaze.

"Who would you call? Vincent Adler?" Peter baited and Caton bit immediately. He looked back up at Peter with surprise.

"Why would I call him? More importantly, _how_ would I contact him? I have no idea where he disappeared to. I haven't seen him in 8 years," Caton tried to salvage the situation.

"Adler has bailed you out of tough spots before."

"That was a long time ago. Like I said, I haven't seen him since he disappeared 8 years ago. I invested with him, too, so if you find that son of a bitch, you can get me my money back!"

"Oh, we'll catch him, don't worry about that. And maybe we can work out a deal if you help us get him," Peter offered.

"Why would I need a deal when you don't even have anything to charge me with?" Caton challenged.

"We're looking into the circumstances surrounding the death of Ryan Harper," Peter replied simply.

"Ryan Harper? That case was closed. It was ruled accidental by the coroner," Caton replied.

"We've received a tip that Ryan Harper's death may not have been the accident you described it to be."

"Look, I gave my statement to the NYPD. Whoever gave you this so-called 'tip' is messing with you. I don't have anything to add beyond what I already told the police. And what does that have to do with these allegations you have of me stealing Nazi artefacts?"

"Agent Burke didn't mention anything specifically about Nazi artefacts," Diana jumped on this. "He only said 'European'."

Caton tried to think quickly and said, "Well, you're the ones holding my file. I'm sure it's in there."

Peter opened the manila folder in front of him and pushed it across the table closer to Caton. It revealed what looked to be an invoice. Caton's eyes widened with surprise, "What _is_ this?"

"My dog's vet bill," Peter leant back in his chair and said, "Your JAG file is still in transit. Would you like to start talking now?" Peter asked with a smile.

* * *

"How's Alex?" Neal asked Mozzie over the phone as he walked back to the FBI office.

"She's talking to Hale trying to work out who might have bugged their phones," Mozzie replied. "Where are you now?"

"On my way back to the office to see how Peter's interview went with Bill Caton."

"How did you go with the Widow Harper?" Mozzie asked.

"Just when I thought nothing else she tells me could surprise me anymore, she proved me wrong again," Neal replied.

"What happened?"

"Stephanie Harper was having an affair with Vincent Adler when he disappeared."

"WHAT?" Mozzie exclaimed.

"You know what this means, Moz?" Neal asked.

"She was having an affair with him right under our noses and we had no idea?" Mozzie answered.

"I can't believe I never even met Stephanie or Ryan back then."

"Neal, Adler and the Harpers were travelling in the same circles – lifestyles of the rich and richer. He was out partying while you were doing the heavy lifting. And let's not forget you were a little busy with your own merriment at that time with Kate," Mozzie replied.

"Moz, Stephanie said Adler introduced Ryan to Caton shortly after she and Adler started their affair. They did a pretty good job of hiding it from everyone."

"Does she think that Adler had Ryan killed because of her?"

"No. Their affair ended when he disappeared and from everything we know about Adler, he was not the kind of man to let personal feelings get in the way of business," Neal replied.

"Did Ryan know?" Mozzie asked.

"She said no," Neal said, hesitantly.

"But you think she's lying?"

"I think she'd been lying for so long she isn't sure what is real and what is not anymore."

"And what of the mystery item you were supposed to be looking for in her apartment?"

"We turned every painting, every sculpture, everything Ryan had hidden upside down and inside out. It'd be easier if we knew what we were actually looking for."

"Do you think Adler knows what this mystery item is?" Mozzie wondered.

"He knew about the music box and he's hot on the heels of Alex. If he killed Ryan Harper for this 'thing' then he has to know what it is. We just need to keep him from getting whatever 'it' is."

"Are you going to tell the Suit about the affair?"

"I don't know yet. I think it's something that Stephanie should be telling him, not me," Neal replied. "Listen, I gotta go. Keep digging and let me know if you find anything."

"Will do, mon frère," Mozzie concluded and they hung up their phones.


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER FOUR**

"Boss, how did you know Adler bailed Caton out before?" Diana asked as she and Jones regrouped in Peter's office. "You didn't have his file from JAG yet."

"No, I didn't but I had Agent Blake check to see if Caton had any previous police records. He found a couple of misdemeanours that got him sent to juvie for a few weeks when he was 15. Then his parents packed him off to join the navy as soon as they could. He got into trouble a few times early in his career at various ports, mostly for drunken behaviour or barroom brawls. Those were all in local police files. A man named Jason Woodley bailed him out each time," Peter explained.

"And who is Jason Woodley?" Jones asked, now in a dry suit.

"An associate at the law firm whose biggest client was Adler Financial Management," Peter replied.

"That means Caton and Adler go back a long way," Jones commented.

Just then, Neal entered the squad room.

"Neal," Peter called out from his office. Neal picked up his pace and went up the stairs two steps at a time and went straight into Peter's office.

"What did Caton have to say?" Neal asked.

"Diana, Jones, could you follow up on Caton's service record? I need to talk to Neal alone," Peter said.

As Diana and Jones stepped out, Neal looked questioningly at them, but neither had any idea what Peter was about to say and shrugged as they exited the room. Neal turned back to Peter, who gestured for him to sit down.

"Neal, what do you know about Robert Moreau?" Peter asked.

"Kate's father?"

"Yes. I understand he died before you met Kate," Peter continued.

Neal nodded, "Yeah, he died in 2000, a couple of years before I came to the city. Why?"

"Did Kate ever talk about him or how he died?"

"Not really, just that he died in a car accident on his way home from work," Neal was getting increasingly edgy. "Peter, where are you going with this?"

"Neal, Robert Moreau died when he crashed his getaway car into the Hudson while fleeing the Girshon Gallery with a Matisse in the back seat."

"Why didn't I know any of this?" Neal asked. "I don't remember anything about a theft at the Girshon…" Neal was struggling to grasp the meaning of all of this.

"Kate's been dead almost a year. It's time to accept the fact she hid a lot of things from you, Neal."

"Maybe she didn't know the truth herself? Peter, Kate would never lie to me," Neal insisted.

"OK, so maybe I'll concede it is a possibility, remote as it might be, that Kate didn't know how her father died. Do you know who owns the Girshon Gallery?"

Neal's face tightened at this, "Vincent Adler," he replied simply as the connections slowly began to hit him.

"Adler is like Rome…all roads lead to him," Peter said.

"Did Caton tell you this?" Neal asked.

"Yep. He met Moreau at the races in Portland. Caton lost some money and Moreau bailed him out with a loan. Before you know it they were best buds. They started working small cons together till Caton introduced Moreau to Adler," Peter explained.

Neal was trying to process all this.

"Did Stephanie tell you how Caton and Adler met?" Peter asked.

"She just said she thought they'd met at some party at a mutual friend's but that was before she knew Caton," Neal replied.

"Did she know Robert Moreau?" Peter asked.

"I would remember if Kate's father's name had come up in our conversations," Neal answered.

"Did she have proof that Caton was smuggling antiquities that she withheld?" Peter pushed some more.

Neal hesitated.

"Neal?" Peter asked again. "Have _you_ seen proof of the stolen antiquities?"

"I think you should be asking Stephanie yourself," Neal got up and walked out of Peter's office.

* * *

"I think I've figured out what Adler is looking for," Alex exclaimed. She was helping Mozzie with the fractal antenna.

Mozzie stopped what he was doing and looked up questioningly.

"Ever heard of the _Séduisant_ diamond?" Alex asked.

"The Beguiling Diamond? The one that was stolen from the Versailles?" Mozzie asked. Alex nodded. "Please don't tell me you're responsible for that."

"I wish…that diamond has been floating around long before my time, but I do know who fenced it 3 years ago," Alex said.

"Hale!" Mozzie answered. Alex nodded.

"He wouldn't tell me who bought it back then but Moz, look at this," Alex pointed at the missing piece in their blueprint for the antenna. "There's something here that we haven't figured out yet. I mean, it's not very big and it's a funny cross-shape. The _Séduisant_ is about this size and it would fit in with why Adler would think I might have it or know its whereabouts."

"Except he figured out the Harpers have it," Mozzie said.

"And that's why he killed Ryan Harper," Alex and Mozzie said at once.

* * *

Stephanie Harper's BlackBerry buzzed. She picked it up from the table to read the message:

"_Let's relive our first date. VA_".

She checked the time. It was just after 6pm. She did not have much time to get ready.

* * *

Stephanie dialled Peter's number. He picked up almost right away.

"Stevie, I was just about to call you. We know what Adler is after," Peter greeted. He was in the conference room with Neal, Diana and Jones, going through Bill Caton's records. They all stopped at the mention of Stephanie Harper's name.

"I just received a message from Vincent Adler," Stephanie said. "He wants to meet."

"Where? When?" Peter asked.

"Tonight. Rainbow Room. Eight o'clock."

Peter looked at his watch. It was already 7.15pm. "Stephanie, you need to come in. Now. We need to work out how to do this." Peter started putting his suit jacket on.

"No. There's no time, Peter. I need to get ready."

"You can't go in alone," Peter said.

"I can't go in with an entourage either. Peter, I need to do this."

"You need backup. He's a dangerous man. He's killed before. He killed your husband and he's not going to hesitate to kill you if it came to that," Peter insisted. "He…" Peter heard the phone line click. Stephanie had already hung up.

"Peter, what's going on?" Neal asked with grave concern on his face.

"Stephanie just got a message from Adler," Peter explained. "She's meeting him at the Rainbow Room at 8."

"The Rainbow Room's been closed since mid 2009," Jones said.

"Yep. Diana, I need you to find out if there are any CCTVs still installed in the Rainbow Room and if you can get them reactivated asap. We need eyes on that room," Peter instructed.

"On it, Boss," Diana said and hurriedly left the conference room back to her desk.

"Jones, I need you to trace all calls and text messages to Stephanie Harper's phone," Peter continued.

"Got it," Jones replied and followed Diana out of the room.

"You think there's something Stephanie's not telling you?" Neal asked.

"I think she wants revenge and she doesn't want us there to stop her when it happens," Peter replied.

"You think she's going to kill him?" Neal asked as both men headed out towards the elevator, with Neal grabbing his jacket along the way.

"Neal, I _thought _you were going to kill Fowler. I don't _know_ what Stephanie is going to do. She's not the woman I knew in college. But we need to stop her from doing anything stupid and we need to get Adler."

**

* * *

  
A/N: **_For those "playing at home", Robert Moreau (Kate's father) was mentioned at the end of S1E09 "Bad Judgment" episode. His gravestone read very simply: "ROBERT MOREAU 1949-2000"._

_The fractal antenna was one of the big revelations at the end of S2E11 "Forging Bonds" (aka the flashback episode) when Peter worked out that Alex had visited Neal and helped him work out what the fractal built. I do not know the components of how to build a fractal and the addition of the missing diamond piece to complete it is purely of my own creation to explain the murder of Ryan Harper's death. _

_The famed Rainbow Room is, at the time of writing, indeed closed and has been since June 2009 due to landlord disputes. There is no current information as to when it will reopen. Whether there were ever actually any closed-circuit televisions in the restaurant/bar, I have no idea and is purely a creation of my own to serve the story._


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER FIVE**

Stephanie Harper stepped out of the elevator on the 65th floor of Rockefeller Centre. It was no longer the grand ballroom it once was in its heyday. The room was bare and the only light came from the many candles that had been lit around what was once the dance floor.

It was 7.30pm. She was right on time.

She could not see Adler but she knew he was there. Vincent Adler was never late for anything that he did not want to be late for and he had not been late for their first "date".

She crossed the room slowly, stopping in the middle of the dance floor. Her eyes were adjusting to the darkness in the room. Finally, she saw a shadow sitting at one of the tables at the far side of the room. Adler lit the candle at the table just then, revealing a perfectly laid table and opened bottle of champagne that he was already drinking from in a fine crystal flute.

As Stephanie approached the table, Adler stood up to greet her. He was dressed in a white tuxedo jacket, with black pants, perfect tailored as was his custom. He held his arms out to her and smiled his most charming con-man smile at her…just like the old times.

"Darling! It's been a long time," Adler said. Stephanie winced a little.

"Vincent," Stephanie said simply. She did not get any closer to him.

Adler took a step closer and wrapped his arms around Stephanie. He went to kiss her lips but she turned her head so that he caught her cheek instead. "I'm so glad you came."

"You did not really give me a choice," Stephanie replied.

"My dear, there's always a choice," Adler said. He stepped back and looked her up and down, smiling with satisfaction, then added, "I knew you would still look as beautiful as ever in this Dior dress I bought you."

Stephanie remained unmoved.

Adler took her by the elbow and led her to the chair opposite to the one he was sitting in. He pulled out the chair and gestured for Stephanie to sit down, which she did. He returned to his own chair, and poured champagne into a second flute, then picked up his own.

"Let's make a toast," Adler raised his glass. "To your late husband, Ryan Harper. The best friend a man can have and the best husband a woman can have – one who willingly shared his wife with me."

Stephanie tightened her grip on the clutch bag in her lap but did not say anything.

"What's the matter? Champagne not up to your standards?" Adler asked.

"I didn't come here for Champagne," Stephanie replied.

"Why did you come, Stephanie?" Adler leant in closer. "Did you come to kill me?"

"You think I won't?"

Adler smiled and leant back into his seat. "I think you can be very handy with that gun you've got in your purse, but if you'd wanted to put me away, you would have done it 8 years ago."

"I won't make the same mistake again," Stephanie said flatly.

"No, I'm sure you won't." Adler stood up and held out his hand to Stephanie and said, "Shall we dance?"

* * *

Peter and Neal were caught in traffic as they tried to get to Rockefeller Centre. Even their emergency siren offered little help.

Peter's phone rang and he accepted the call with the car's speakerphone on the first ring. "What have you got for me, Jones?"

"Diana's got the CCTV cameras at the Rainbow Room reactivated," Jones started.

"Good," Peter said.

"But you're already late for their meeting," Jones continued.

"We're stuck in traffic," Peter replied.

Neal checked the clock on the dashboard. "Wait, I thought you said 8 o'clock?" he asked. It was 7.50pm.

Neal and Peter looked at each other. "She lied to me," Peter said.

"Stephanie Harper is already there with Adler," Jones replied.

"What did the message from Adler say?" Neal asked.

"It was sent at 6.09pm and said 'Let's relive our first date'," Jones answered.

"First date?" Peter repeated, then looked at Neal, who refused to meet Peter's eye. "What can you see from the cameras?" Peter turned back to look at the road to see where he could cut through the traffic while Neal continued to stare straight ahead.

"It's pretty dark in there. Their cameras were connected to a separate electrical circuit so we got that running first and we're trying to get the rest of the floor reconnected so we can flood the room but it looks like there are candles lighting the room," Diana replied.

"What are they doing?" Peter asked.

"Um…it looks like they're dancing," Diana replied.

"Dancing?" Neal repeated.

"Get a SWAT team, NYPD, get everyone there NOW!" Peter almost yelled then ended the call.

Neal looked up through the windscreen.

"What are you thinking?" Peter asked.

"I'm thinking we're only a couple of blocks away and we have a killer to arrest," Neal replied before opening the door and jumping out of the car just as traffic started to move.

Peter quickly pulled over to the side of the road, jumped out and joined Neal in their dash towards Rockefeller Centre.

* * *

"You knew I had the diamond," Stephanie said as she danced with Adler. There was no music, just Adler humming softly in her ear. "Why did you have to kill Ryan?"

Adler continued to hold Stephanie close but did not reply. The pair continued to sway gently together. Under any other circumstance, they would have looked like the perfect couple in love.

"You were meant to kill me, weren't you?" Stephanie asked.

"Now why would I want to do that? After everything we had together?"

"You knew I had the _Séduisant_," Stephanie repeated. "You could have come to me instead of sending that thug, Caton, to keep doing your dirty work for you."

"First of all, it sounds like you are accusing Bill of murdering your husband, and if that is the case, you should probably be telling the police about it and not me," Adler pulled away for a moment to look into Stephanie's eyes. "And second of all, I apologise for not calling sooner. As you know, I was a little busy."

"With getting the music box? With killing Kate Moreau just like you killed her father?"

Adler finally broke their embrace but was still holding on to Stephanie's hands. "So many accusations, my dear! Next thing you know, you're going to say I tried to kill Neal Caffrey as well," Adler returned.

"I don't hear any denials, Vincent," Stephanie replied.

Adler pulled Stephanie back into his embrace with some force and whispered, with a smile, into her ear, "And you fell in love with me knowing who and what I was."

Stephanie pulled away from Adler and slapped him hard across the face. Adler barely flinched but ran his hand across where she had left her mark and smiled back at her. Despite the anger she felt, she looked calm and composed.

"If you want the diamond, you're going to have to kill me, too" Stephanie stood her ground and said resolutely.

Adler stopped smiling.

Stephanie looked towards the elevators. "I would suggest unless you want to give yourself up right now, I expect Peter Burke will be here with the SWAT team any second now."

Adler stepped up close to her again, "Come away with me."

"What?" Stephanie replied. "You think after everything that has happened that I would give you the diamond and run away with you?"

"You know you want to, otherwise you wouldn't have come," Adler said confidently.

"Same old Vincent Adler – always so sure of yourself. That always did make you so attractive. But then again, that is what makes a good con-man," Stephanie said. "But I didn't come here so I could run away with you. I came because I wanted to look evil in the eye and send him back to Hell," Stephanie held Adler's gaze.

Adler laughed and applauded, "Well, well, well, I see I have underestimated how much you've grown since we were together last." He looked down at his watch. "Well, darling, I'm afraid our time is up. I only had this room till 8pm," he smiled and started to head towards the emergency exit. Stephanie did not follow.

"We shall meet again soon," Adler called out as he walked into the stairwell.

"You can count on it," Stephanie replied to the emptiness around her.

* * *

Peter and Neal burst through the elevator doors into the Rainbow Room, Peter with his pistol raised and Neal following close behind him.

"FBI!" Peter yelled.

"He's gone," Stephanie said.

Peter and Neal looked around the room to find it empty except for Stephanie sitting by herself at the table, sipping the Champagne Adler had poured out for her earlier.

"Where did he go?" Peter asked as he and Neal ran across the room towards Stephanie.

"I don't know," came the reply.

"Are you OK?" Neal asked, bending over to check.

Stephanie looked up at Neal and smiled. "Couldn't be better."

"You had him! You had him and you let him go?" Peter asked.

"Peter, calm down," Neal said.

Peter ignored Neal, took his phone out of his pocket and dialed. "Diana, we just missed Adler. Make sure all the exits are blocked and have a chopper search surrounding areas."

"He can't have gone far," Neal said to Peter.

Stephanie stood up, walked over to Peter, took his hand and put something in it.

Peter looked from his hand back to Stephanie. "That's the receiver. I put two GPS transmitters on him, one underneath the back of his jacket collar and the other on his belt." Both Peter and Neal looked back at Stephanie in surprise. "Nobody ever expects two," she said and headed towards the elevator.

The men looked at each other but remained glued to their spots.

Stephanie turned back when she got to the elevator and said, "Gentlemen, where shall we debrief? I need to change out of this dress." 


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER SIX**

Neal and Peter were seated at the conference room table. Stephanie was pouring herself a cup of coffee before sitting down to join them. Jones and Diana were monitoring Adler's movements on the tracking device Stephanie had provided.

Diana knocked and entered the room. "Boss, looks like Adler found one of the transmitters. We lost one signal but still have the other. The choppers are following him now," she reported.

"Thanks, Diana. Let me know when we've got him," Peter said. Diana left to return to the squad room.

"Where would you like to start?" Stephanie opened.

"Let's start from the beginning. Tell me about Ryan Harper." Peter said.

"He was caught by an off-duty policeman impersonating a cop when he was 16, trying to arrest some shoplifters from a convenience store. When the cops realised who he was, or rather, whose son he was, they called his father rather than charge him."

"Brady Harper – the man who was on the shortlist to be the next Mayor of New York at the time," Peter said.

"Right," Stephanie continued. "Brady thanked the officers and promised there would be no more trouble from Junior. When the officers delivered Ryan home, Brady told his son that he was not Batman with a secret superhero identity, and was therefore to stop impersonating police officers."

"I'm guessing that didn't make too much of an impression on junior?" It was Neal who spoke. Peter turned to look at Neal but does not say anything.

"Ryan was an only child with a genius IQ, an ambitious father, and a mother who was chairwoman or patron of every form of art or charitable organisation. They had little time for his misadventures. He was kicked out of more boarding schools, both here and in Europe, than I care to recount."

"Did Harper Senior pay off the authorities to keep his son out of jail?" Peter asked.

"Ryan and his fellow trust-fund baby buddies did their best to out-con each other but no criminal charges were ever laid against any of them because their parents were influential enough to ruin careers if they ever got prosecuted. But I don't think money was ever exchanged," Stephanie answered.

"How did Ryan come to work for the FBI?" Neal asked.

"By the time Ryan graduated from Harvard, the FBI had him on their watch-list for a number of suspected crimes. Bancroft realised it would be wasted effort to try and prosecute. Ryan had access to a lot of information and people so Bancroft figured he would be a great asset for the Bureau. But unlike Neal, Ryan had no criminal record so Bancroft didn't have anything to bargain with so he had to come up with a different approach," Stephanie continued.

"By using you?" Neal asked.

"Yes. That's when I came up on their radar." Stephanie nodded.

"How?" Neal asked.

Peter looked at Neal and answered for Stephanie, "The FBI, like the CIA, regularly looks at student profiles and grades." Peter turns back to Stephanie. "You were acing all your classes – majoring in Finance, with minors in Political Science and Criminology, dating a guy who was on his way to Quantico, had no remaining living relatives who could come out of the woodwork to give you trouble, popular enough to have trust-worthy friends but not so much you made enemies. Add to that you had no criminal record – in other words, the perfect prospect for undercover work."

"Exactly," Stephanie said.

"So how did they recruit you?" Neal asked.

"I came home after my Poli-Sci final in my sophomore year," Stephanie looked at Neal to explain, "I was getting changed to go meet Peter to celebrate when there was a knock at my door. The man showed me his badge and told me he was from the FBI."

"Bancroft?" Peter asked. Stephanie nodded, looking back at Peter now.

"The moment he showed me his badge I thought maybe something had happened to you. He explained he had a 'job offer' of sorts for me and he wanted me to consider it carefully before I slammed the door in his face. I told him it was not a good time to discuss any job offer and that my boyfriend would be there any minute to pick me up," Stephanie continued.

"But I was late that night 'coz my radiator overheated," Peter looked as if everything suddenly became clear to him.

"Wow, sneaky," Neal said, slightly impressed.

Stephanie continued. "So, Bancroft tells me that there is no hurry because my boyfriend was having car trouble and would be late. About 30 seconds later my phone rang and it was you calling to tell me your car had broken down. I put the phone down and let him in. The sales pitch he gave me could make any salesman cringe with shame. He told me I had a week to think about his offer and I was not to discuss it with anyone, especially not with you."

"That's why you looked so pre-occupied all night. I thought you were pissed at me for being so late," Peter recalled as the truth unravelled. "And when the week was up, your answer was yes to Bancroft and no to me," Peter concluded, looking at Stephanie.

She got up, avoiding Peter's gaze, walked over to the window. "I didn't know you were going to propose that night, Peter."

The room went silent. It was Neal who broke the silence. "So how did Bancroft put you and Harper together?"

"After graduating, Ryan went on daddy's payroll. Brady had lost the election but was no less politically ambitious. He wanted to make sure Ryan was geared up to take over the family business, even though it was known in closed circles Ryan wanted to have nothing to do with his family or their business. Bancroft's plan was to put me in as his 'inside man', so to speak. Get me to gain Ryan's trust, to try to turn him rather than bust him."

"And the plan included you marrying him?" Peter asked.

"It was never supposed to be a romantic relationship. I worked the friendship angle for a few months but Ryan suspected something. Like I said, Ryan Harper was a smart man and I was too green. He confronted me and asked if I was SEC or DOJ. I told him I was with the FBI White Collar Crime Division. He, of course, hardly missed a beat. He said he had known from the beginning I had some ulterior motive, that I was a terrible liar, and that the FBI had made a mistake throwing an amateur into the lion's den."

"Wow, that was harsh," Neal said.

"He was right. I had no idea what I was doing."

"So what made you decide to stay?" Peter asked.

"I had nowhere else to go. You had left for Virginia. I had the grades but not the connections to get a job on Wall Street to fulfil my own ambitions. Besides, I was getting a taste of the millionaire lifestyle and it wasn't so bad," Stephanie looked at Neal as she said this and offered a slight smile.

"If Harper knew you were FBI, how did you get him to agree to co-operate?" Neal asked.

"It was simple, really. He was bored, even with the scams he was running. No one knew the extent of what else he had done. When I admitted to him I was with the FBI and that we wanted him to work for us, he said he had found a new purpose in life. He met with Bancroft the next day. When the meeting was over, Bancroft told me Ryan would only agree to do this if I was his partner."

"Why?" Peter asked.

"He said I was an interesting challenge."

"A challenge?" Neal asked.

"He said he I wasn't like any girl he had met before because I wasn't interested in him for his money. In fact, I wasn't interested in him at all. And that made me a challenge."

There was silence in the room.

Stephanie continued, "Bancroft, Hughes, Ryan and I worked on my cover and how it would best fit in with Ryan's new double-life. Over the years, things evolved and we just went with the flow."

"Tell me about your affair with Adler," Peter said.

Stephanie looked at Neal who shook his head once to show he had not betrayed her trust.

"We found the text message Adler sent to your phone," Peter added.

"I can't remember a time when we didn't know Vincent Adler. We travelled in the same circles, went to the same parties, went to the same operas. We even vacationed together, usually whenever Vincent had a new girlfriend."

"When did the affair start?" Peter asked.

"A couple of years before he disappeared," Stephanie replied.

"Did Ryan know?" Peter continued the questioning while Neal remained the silent observer.

"No, not at first," Stephanie replied. "I don't know when he found out. I suspect Vincent could have told him. He never gave me any indication that he suspected anything."

"Was the affair part of your cover?"

"No," came the simple reply.

"Did you suspect Adler was running a Ponzi Scheme?"

"Not for a long time. No one did. That's how he got so many people. It was not exactly pillow talk."

"But you did suspect something before he disappeared?" Peter pushed.

"Peter, Stephanie's not the guilty one here," Neal reminded Peter.

"I had my suspicions that he was up to something but I didn't know what it was and I didn't do anything to stop him," Stephanie replied. "I knew he had art works that he obtained via unusual channels but they were not why I went undercover."

"And this diamond that he's looking for? How did it come to be in your possession?"

"Ryan gave it to me for our 10th wedding anniversary. I knew what it was but I had no idea its true significance till after Neal left my apartment this afternoon."

"It is the missing piece in the fractal antenna," Neal said.

"Where is it now?" Peter asked.

Stephanie unclasped the necklace with the diamond-encrusted Crucifix from her neck and handed it to Peter, "This is it."

* * *

_**~ FIN ~**_

* * *

**A/N**: _My story ends here to allow the "good guys" to complete their building of the fractal antenna and continue their chase for Vincent Adler which is expected to be unravelled by the end of S2 in the finale "Under the Radar" to air in the US on March 8, 2011. _

_I hope you have enjoyed this story. Whether there will be another sequel to this story or whether I will write more with Stephanie Harper will depend on comments/feedback __ Thank you for reading and enjoy the show! xox  
_


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